Charlotte Bloomberg, the energetic 102-year-old Massachusetts woman who brought Mayor Michael Bloomberg into this world, passed away yesterday. "As the center of our family, our mother's unimpeachable integrity, fierce independence, and constant love were gifts that profoundly shaped our lives and the lives of so many who knew her," Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. "Our family recognizes how truly blessed we have been to have her live such a long and full life, and to be able to carry her spirit with us forever."
Born Charlotte Reubens in Jersey City in 1909, the petite and pithy Bloomberg matriarch was a frequent sight on the mayor's first two campaign's and a name he regularly drops in his speeches. Reubens received a BA in accounting from NYU (money management runs in the family) and married her husband William Bloomberg in 1934, he died in 1963.
The elder Bloomberg was an important fixture in her son's life—he called her everyday—but she was seemingly never much interested in his massive wealth. She declined his offers to buy her a fancy house, paid for the car services he would send with her own checks and "When his private jets arrived, she groaned."
The burial will be private, with a memorial service at a later date, according to the mayor's office.
